You can go to Japan as working holiday. It's quite easy to get Japanese working visa with sponsorship by a company. The only down side is that you may need to learn the language. That said, there are many firms who will hire english speaking foreign architects.

Australia is another country which is relatively easy. There are a lot of architects from Europe working in Australia. Again first as working holiday visa then eventually get sponsor by a firm.

china seems a good bet as well.

hours in asia are killing though. don't expect time for a life...;-)

best way to get a job anywhere is i think to be there on the ground, which can be a prob fro some. makes all the difference though.

luck.

How long do working holiday visas last?
Every been to Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong? Is it easy get a job there?

Just to share some research...

I'm in the US, have a 5-year b.arch, and also three years experience. I found it incredibly difficult to achieve visas for Australia and NZ. While European countries (and Canada too, I believe) have a 'working holiday' with these two countries, the US does not. I was able to find companies that you can through through in the US to receive a visa similar to working holiday -- but you have to pay the company anywhere from $500-800 in fees and these usually allowed a residency of only six months. You could also get an migration agent (like Stirling Henry...see AANZA site), but this, too, seems a costly and over-the-top channel. The traditional route to be allowed in say, for a stint of several years and under a temporary skilled worker visa, would be to take the points test (which they just in 2005 raised the pass mark to be allowed into the pool to 115) and hope that your application gets a green light. You have the greatest chance of getting in this way if you are under thirty, have been in the same job for longer than three calendar years, and if your career is on the recruited career list (this can be found for Aus, on the DIMIA website; nurses and cake decorators and barbers are wanted, architects are unfortunately not). Another route to get in is if you know someone...say, a firm owner that really wanted to hire you. If they do a documented job search and cannot find an Australian to meet their qualifications, and they are willing to launch and sponsor your visa application -- then pack your bags. One other option is that you could go to grad school in Aus.; it seems much easier to segue into living and working there when you have a degree from an Australian university.

I have no idea if you are even considering these two places, but for Aus., the DIMIA website is a pretty good starting point for information: www.dimia.gov.au ; you can research the different types of visas and even apply online. There is an American site that I'm not able to remember or find right now. It is a counterpart to the DIMIA site, very official, but very helpful about how to work through this process. I'll do some hunting and post if I can track it down.

On the flip -- please post anything useful that you stumble across; I have the same experience and degree and a seemingly insatiable travel bug. I would love to be reassured that this is not an impossible endeavor. (!)

That's exactly what I'm thinking ess, I refuse to believe that it is impossible to get a job outside the country.

One idea I was entertaining was to get employment in the US (for me it would be in NYC) with a US firm that has satellite offices outside the country. I'm thinking that it is easier to apply for a transfer within the
company and go to one of the overseas offices.

The downfall to this is that I'm not sure how long I have to work with the US firm before transfering, I'm thinking a min of 1 year.

Any thoughts?

It's sad that it's so freaking difficult for Americans to work abroad, while other westerners have working holidays and easy options, that they take full advantage of. Then people wonder why so many Americans are un-aware of the world around them. Well, not saying work visas are the problem, but giving more Americans exposure to different cultures cannot hurt.

When I briefly looked into it going abroad after graduating I was told to apply at American owned firms that had branch offices in Europe. Talked to the president (alumni) of a major firm with an office in London. He said they were busy in London and hiring many US grads and sending them there. Starting work in a place like HOK and crossing your fingers on that transfer overseas probably will take far more than one year. Just guessing. Good luck.

If you've worked at any multi-nationals in the US it'll be a big help in getting a job at a foreign office be it Europe or Asia. I know quite a few big offices in the US have subsidiaries in London and Shang Hai. If you havent - perhaps speak to a firm that does - apply for a position through them. They may take care of ure visa stuff for you. That's how a friend of mine got a job in Abu Dhabi.

China has more jobs for foreign archs/designers than they know what to do with. Its slowing down, but essentially just show up and don't suck.
Dubai as well.